Oman honours legacy of Nadhira Al Harthy following tragic loss in Broad Peak avalanche
An avalanche swept across Broad Peak (8,047m, per the Alpine Club of Pakistan; other sources give 8,051m/26,414ft) in Pakistan’s Karakoram range on Thursday, July 30, catching ten climbers from four separate expeditions ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing. Search and rescue teams have since recovered several bodies, while the fate of others on the mountain remains unresolved.
What happened
Accounts of the exact timing of the avalanche differ across outlets. The Alpine Club of Pakistan stated it occurred around midday local time ExplorersWeb, and Alpinist Magazine similarly reported it struck shortly before noon Alpinist Magazine. ExplorersWeb, however, put the time at around 9:20am, while Climbing reported the slide hit at about 9am, citing climbers’ GPS tracks that showed movement ceasing between 8:57am and 9:30am Climbing. The avalanche struck the standard West Ridge route between Camp II and Camp III, at an elevation Climbing placed at about 6,579 metres (21,580 feet) and ExplorersWeb at around 6,660 metres. According to Imagine Nepal, the climbers had reached Camp 2 on Wednesday, intending to push to Camp 3 on Thursday ahead of a planned summit push on Friday.
GPS trackers carried by several of the missing climbers provided some of the clearest evidence of what happened. ExplorersWeb reported that the devices showed climbers stopping their ascent around 9:30am Pakistan time before falling several hundred metres ExplorersWeb. Alpinist Magazine reported that trackers for several missing climbers became stationary above 7,800 metres and had not moved since Alpinist Magazine. Climbing reported more specific figures: American climber Mallory Geis’s tracker recorded a sudden drop of 543 metres (1,784 feet), while Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy’s showed a descent of 1,651 metres (5,417 feet) Climbing. Pakistani mountaineer Samson Sharaf, a mentor to guide Sohail Sakhi, told Climbing that the overhanging section where the accident occurred was clearly visible from below, and that the entire snow-laden face likely released, sweeping across the traverse.
The people involved
The Alpine Club of Pakistan’s press release identified the ten climbers as five Nepali mountaineers led by Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja, one Pakistani climber, Sohail Sakhi of Hunza, one Omani climber, Nadhira Al Harthy, one American climber, named in the release as Mallory Geis, one Chinese climber referred to as Mr Wang, and one other foreign climber ExplorersWeb. Climbing’s account aligned closely, listing Purja, Sakhi, five additional Nepali guides, and three clients from China, Oman and the United States Climbing. ExplorersWeb’s reporting rendered the American climber’s name inconsistently, as both “Mallory Weis” and “Mallory Geiss”, whereas Climbing consistently used Mallory Geis. The ten were spread across four teams: Sakhi guiding Geis, Purja leading an Elite Exped group, an Imagine Nepal team operating without its usual leader Mingma G, who was on K2 at the time, and a group from Seven Summit Treks.
Those reported as part of the group included Nepali guide Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Chinese climber Wang Zhong, and Nepali guides Nima Sherpa, Kili Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa and Nawang Thendu Sherpa Climbing. Several had notable mountaineering records. Purja held the speed record for completing all 14 eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen, finished on October 4, 2024, and had summited 8,000-metre peaks 57 times in total, including 29 without oxygen, according to Climbing. Kilu Sherpa had completed all 14 eight-thousanders, finishing with Nanga Parbat on July 3, weeks before the avalanche. Wang Zhong had summited Gasherbrum II alongside Purja on July 4, his eleventh 8,000-metre peak. Sakhi, a guide, photographer and drone pilot from Hunza, had summited Nanga Parbat without supplemental oxygen in 2025. Geis, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, was on her first attempt on an 8,000-metre peak. Al Harthy had become the first Omani woman to summit Everest in 2019 and aimed to climb all 14 eight-thousanders.
The response
Naila Kiani of the Alpine Club of Pakistan told ExplorersWeb that the club only learned of the avalanche at 10pm that night, despite its having occurred many hours earlier ExplorersWeb. ExplorersWeb noted that roughly 13 hours elapsed between the slide and the alarm being raised, even though teams had staff stationed at Base Camp. Kiani said the club was “all shocked” by the delay. Two helicopters loaded with rescuers and oxygen were scheduled to fly to Broad Peak on Friday, and ACP President Major General Irfan Arshad was reported to be in constant contact with government authorities to coordinate the search. The club’s press release stated that helicopter support and further resources would be mobilised as conditions allowed.
A July 31 press release from the Commissioner of Baltistan, cited by Climbing, confirmed the recovery of three bodies: Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis Climbing. The same release stated that several other climbers had been spotted by drone but not yet identified or assessed for condition. The operation was due to resume on August 1 after poor weather had interrupted efforts. A subsequent ACP update reported four further bodies recovered and brought to Camp 1 (5,600m/18,368ft): Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa. One body was spotted at a higher location but could not be safely recovered at that time, the ACP said. Climbing also reported the recovery of an amputated leg, presumed to belong to one of the climbers. On August 1, Elite Exped confirmed via Instagram the deaths of Purja and Nima Sherpa, adding that it had received confirmation other expedition members had not survived. ACP President Irfan Arshad Khan responded to that post by asking Elite Exped to withhold such information until rescuers had physically reached the climbers. Fundraisers were subsequently organised for the families of those lost, including efforts by a friend of Sakhi’s, by the Juniper Fund for Nepali and Pakistani guides, and by Little Monsters Films for Gurung’s family.
Background and context
Elite Exped told Climbing that Purja had travelled to Pakistan primarily to continue his “Hat-Trick Project” for the Nimsdai Foundation, and decided only shortly beforehand to also attempt Broad Peak Climbing. A successful summit would have been his 13th toward completing all 14 eight-thousanders for a second time without supplemental oxygen, with Cho Oyu (8,188m/26,864ft) remaining. In a social media post cited by ExplorersWeb, Purja wrote that the Broad Peak attempt had not originally been planned but would leave him needing only Cho Oyu to become the first person to complete the 14 Peaks twice without oxygen ExplorersWeb. Purja’s earlier 14 Peaks project, completed in around six months with some supplemental oxygen, was documented in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible”. He was also among the Nepali alpinists who made the first winter ascent of K2 in January 2021. Following the documentary’s release, two women accused Purja of sexual assault in a 2024 New York Times feature, allegations a 2025 podcast series by reporter Poppy Damon questioned. Sakhi had previously spoken to ExplorersWeb about pay inequity facing Pakistani guides as Western and Nepali guides increasingly took on Karakoram work.
What is not yet confirmed
The precise time the avalanche struck remains unsettled, with sources ranging from roughly 9am to around midday ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing. The full condition and location of all ten climbers has not been confirmed, including the person whose body was spotted at a higher, unreachable point on the mountain. It remains unclear whether any of the climbers caught in the slide survived. The circumstances behind the reported 13-hour delay in notifying the Alpine Club of Pakistan have not been fully explained. Discrepancies in reporting, including the spelling of Mallory Geis’s name and the precise elevation of Broad Peak, have not been resolved across outlets.
Sources referenced
- Updated: Ten Missing, Including Nirmal Purja, After Avalanche on Broad Peak — ExplorersWeb
- AVALANCHE: TEN CLIMBERS, INCLUDING NIRMAL PURJA, MISSING ON BROAD PEAK — Alpinist Magazine
- Who Were the 10 Climbers Caught in the Broad Peak Avalanche? — Climbing
Written by Andoram by combining 3 independently published reports, each linked above. We synthesise facts and reproduce no source text.
Coverage timeline
- Friends mourn Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, say she 'never climbed for publicity' — Khaleej Times, 1 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
- Oman honours legacy of Nadhira Al Harthy following tragic loss in Broad Peak avalanche — Times of Oman, 31 Jul 2026, 08:12 UTC
- Nadhira al Harthy: First Omani woman Everest climber dies in Pakistan avalanche — Oman Observer, 31 Jul 2026, 07:00 UTC
This page is an automatically compiled index of third-party reporting. Headlines and links belong to their publishers; Andoram reproduces no article text. Last compiled 11 Aug 2026 19:15 UTC.
